Another Moving to USA thread

Whats happening

So I do apologise for opening a new thread, but couldn’t find anything current other than visa conversations.


I work for an Multinational who’s HQ is in Texas, and have Senior Exec support to move the family (4 Children aged 2 – 13) wife and I to the US on a L1-B in the new year. The move / package is costed and approved in principle and now working on the finer details, and I only add this as it’s not a pipe dream, but a move already in play.

Question / help (via directing me to other threads if so) relates to moving personal effects, plan is to ship only personal items, maybe some bikes but no furniture, and looking for people experience and guidance into cost and who they used? Any help is appreciated.

boreder

Usually the moving of personal effects would be covered by your relocation agreement. If your company does this often, they'll have contacts. I have no idea how much it cost in the end, but the company on the Irish side was "Move Masters." They were good, packed everything up quickly and it all arrived fine on the other side.

Keep in mind, whatever home you rent in USA will be unfurnished. Make sure you budget enough dollars for buying beds, sofa, etc. if you're not bringing any.

HDMI

If you are only shipping smaller stuff it might be better to just bring it on the flight with you.

Some other info in this thread.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057924320

Third_Echelon

I did the same move 4 years ago, but to California. L-1 with a moving package provided by my employer. They arranged and paid for the shipping container, packers/movers, apartment and car for the first 4 to 6 weeks. Also paid for flights etc.

We were in a rented house in Ireland and the only furniture we owned was 2 couches, a bed, a coffee table, a few chest of drawers. Everything else was part of the house, so we just shipped it along with personal belongings. We barely half filled a 40 ft container. They asked us if we wanted to ship our car too :-) It would have fit no problem, but wouldn't have been practical with it being a right hand drive.

Took about 10 weeks for our stuff to arrive in California, but this also included the Christmas period, so I think that added to the delay slightly. I imagine it would be quicker to Texas.

If you have any particular questions I'd be happy to answer.

Whats happening

I should add, I've two options.
1st is a managed option where Employer covers flights, 30 days temp accommodation, temp car and of course the cost of visa's, but need to negotiate household good movement.
2nd take a lump sum + cost of visa's and do it alone.. This I am told gives us most flexibility  Hence wanted to understand in more detail other peoples experience
We own a house that we plan to rent hopefully to someone we know, and appreciate that US houses are unfurnished, yet still don't want to bring a lot of stuff.. Really only looking to ensure the children get to bring items that help them settle

Third_Echelon

Whats happening wrote: »

I should add, I've two options.
1st is a managed option where Employer covers flights, 30 days temp accommodation, temp car and of course the cost of visa's, but need to negotiate household good movement.
2nd take a lump sum + cost of visa's and do it alone.. This I am told gives us most flexibility  Hence wanted to understand in more detail other peoples experience
We own a house that we plan to rent hopefully to someone we know, and appreciate that US houses are unfurnished, yet still don't want to bring a lot of stuff.. Really only looking to ensure the children get to bring items that help them settle

To make it easier on yourself, I would recommend option 1 if they include the shipping of whatever you need. Some colleagues that took a similar package to me were also given the option of an air freight container, which is smaller in size, but you get it faster. If it's just clothes, kids toys, bikes etc. this could be a better option for you.

In terms of furniture, for your situation, you're probably better leaving it in Ireland. Anything big like that we brought to the US, we will just sell here when we eventually move back to Ireland. It'll just be clothes and personal items we'll bring back.

Hit up IKEA when you get to Texas. There is also a good second hand market for furniture if the area you are moving to has a lot of corporate offices with families coming and going like you would be. Can pick up some big items for next to nothing.

él statutorio

I did similar to this a few years back.

Wife is American and we moved lock stock and barrel.

Take option 1.

Don't bother taking bikes etc, sell them at home and buy again on the other side. it makes more sense unless you've got incredibly expensive bikes.

Pay the extra baggage fees and put your extra stuff in there.

I shipped some furniture and kids toys and honestly it was a waste of money.

dennyk

Third_Echelon wrote: »

Hit up IKEA when you get to Texas. There is also a good second hand market for furniture if the area you are moving to has a lot of corporate offices with families coming and going like you would be. Can pick up some big items for next to nothing.

Yep, used furniture is easy to come by for cheap in the US. There are whole stores dedicated to it (though they're usually the more expensive option for used stuff), but also huge thrift shops like Goodwill and such which carry furniture and household goods as well as the usual clothes and such, and you also have garage/yard/estate sales (private sales people run out of their houses to get rid of their old ****e, usually on the weekends but sometimes Thursdays and Fridays too; check the local classifieds or Craigslist for ads, or just drive around likely suburbs near you trolling for garage sale signs). The latter especially can yield really cheap stuff if you're not picky about stuff being modern or matching or whatnot. There's also Craigslist itself, if you have some way to transport the items in question (some folks will even give stuff away for free).

New discount furniture stores can also provide some bargains; look for the seedy generic "Furniture Warehouse" type shops in crappy industrial parks or dying strip malls, and when you're there, see if they have any scratch-and-dent, floor models, or broken-up furniture sets (e.g. a leftover chair or whatnot from a living room set, one lonely nightstand from a bedroom set, etc.) on sale; they'll often be willing to unload such items for a pretty cheap price to make more room for stuff they can sell at their usual rip-off prices.

If all else fails or you need something specific and don't want to go hunting in a dozen places, IKEA is the way to go; it's cheap MDF for the most part, but it does the job of keeping your stuff and/or your arse off the floor and doesn't cost much.

Third_Echelon

The 'Nextdoor' app and website are really good as well. They only allow people who live in the local area to sign up. Always loads of furniture for sale or free there.

él statutorio

Third_Echelon wrote: »

The 'Nextdoor' app and website are really good as well. They only allow people who live in the local area to sign up. Always loads of furniture for sale or free there.

Plus there's loads of selling and swap groups on FB

FatherTed

Third_Echelon wrote: »

The 'Nextdoor' app and website are really good as well. They only allow people who live in the local area to sign up. Always loads of furniture for sale or free there.

I second Nextdoor

Manic Moran

Well, if you have any questions about living in the Lone Star State, kick 'em over my way.

MIN2511

Whats happening wrote: »

I should add, I've two options.
1st is a managed option where Employer covers flights, 30 days temp accommodation, temp car and of course the cost of visa's, but need to negotiate household good movement.
2nd take a lump sum + cost of visa's and do it alone.. This I am told gives us most flexibility  Hence wanted to understand in more detail other peoples experience
We own a house that we plan to rent hopefully to someone we know, and appreciate that US houses are unfurnished, yet still don't want to bring a lot of stuff.. Really only looking to ensure the children get to bring items that help them settle

We just moved, and I'd recommend option 1. And leave your furniture in Ireland, buy new ones.
Our move was option 2, and it was too hectic. We booked a hotel for 8 days (to save on cost), and while we found a place less than a week.

ReturningForY

Whats happening wrote: »

I work for an Multinational who’s HQ is in Texas, and have Senior Exec support to move the family (4 Children aged 2 – 13) wife and I to the US on a L1-B in the new year. The move / package is costed and approved in principle and now working on the finer details, and I only add this as it’s not a pipe dream, but a move already in play.

I know you only asked about the logistics of moving, but just to say:

The L-1 is one of the best US visas because it's so easy to get from outside the US. However it has a huge caveat, which is that once you're in the US you're locked in with your employer. This is unlike basically every other US work visa (H-1B, F-1 OPT, O-1,...) which have some employer transfer mechanism.

This can lead to a situation where the L-1 employer pays their employee under-market rate, doesn't offer growth opportunities, etc., because they know their employee can't change jobs. I met someone recently who was on an L-1 from Spain, and their employer was pretty honest about the fact that they were paying them about 50% of the actual wage for their position. This employer point blank refused to sponsor them for a green card, probably because the employee would then leave.

So, if in moving you're also thinking about staying in the US in the medium term, it might be worth enquiring if and when your company will sponsor you for a green card. Asking now is better than asking later because once you're in the US, you've essentially lost all of your bargaining power.